“La Bendicion” (The Blessing) Communal Bank was created by a group of enterprising women with initiative who are dedicated to diverse activities. A total of 11 women are members and they were organized by Mrs. Elia Lucia, a 42-year-old, responsible, honest woman who is very respected by society. She is dedicated to the art of weaving, making typical clothing for women. Recognizing that she needed some capital to increase her business's productivity, she created this bank. It has been 6 months since it was formed and it has benefited all its members.

They approached the office of ASDIR to request financing to cover their customer demand and provide better conditions of life for their families. The group is located in Juchanep Canton in the municipality and department of Totonicapán.

Additional Information

About Asociación ASDIR

ASDIR (Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Rural - Association for the Development of Rural Communities) is a community-based organization that works to promote development in the villages and communities where it serves. It was founded in 1999 in the village of Nimasac, Totonicapán Department, by a handful of local men and women to support community projects and group loans. Today ASDIR has 5 offices across 3 departments (Totonicapán, Sololá and Suchitepéquez) serving more than 6,000 clients, most of them in rural communities.

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.